Automatic Seat Assignment: How to Get the Best Seat on the Plane

Low-cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air use automatic seat assignment: With this check-in tactic, you stand the best chance of getting the best possible seat on the plane without having to pay for it.

Automatic seat assignment

Low-cost airlines operate on a model where customers are charged at every turn for extras beyond basic transport from A to B, with only a small piece of hand luggage included.

You’ll need to pay extra to bring a trolley bag on board, checked luggage incurs an additional cost, and there are punitive fees for those who fail to check in online and must do so at the airport counter.

Of course, low-cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air have a similar approach when it comes to assigning seats on the plane, as you either select a seat in advance for a fee or have the airline automatically assign one for you at online check-in.

Automatic seat assignment is a big cash cow for the likes of Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air, as many customers fear being assigned the dreaded middle seat or having their group or family split up when they opt for it, choosing instead to pay for the privilege of pre-selecting their seat.

Indeed, the only guarantee of getting a good seat on board a low-cost airline is simply biting the bullet and paying for it, as there is always a risk of ending up with a bad seat when leaving the airline’s algorithms to decide for you during the automatic seat assignment process.

However, there is a check-in tactic that takes advantage of the automatic seat assignment algorithms, which can improve your chances of getting the best seat on the plane!

Understanding the algorithms

To secure the best possible seat on board a low-cost airline, it’s vital to understand the algorithms that determine which checked-in passenger is assigned which seat.

Although automatic seat assignment algorithms are closely guarded company secrets and no outsider truly knows how they work, the basic principles of how low-cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air operate are hardly a mystery.

Every seat on board holds a certain value for low-cost airlines, with extra-legroom seats in the bulkhead and emergency exit rows, as well as the first few rows up front in the cabin, being sold at the highest premium.

As the airline can extract the most monetary value from passengers for these premium seats, it certainly won’t assign them for free at random during automatic seat assignment, only doing so at the very last minute if the flight is fully booked.

There is always a chance that a dissatisfied passenger who hasn’t pre-selected a seat and gets stuck with a dreaded middle seat during online check-in will want to change it and pay for a better one after seeing their automatic seat assignment.

Low-cost airlines earn significant revenue from such ancillary services, which is why they typically assign the worst seats as early as possible and only give away the best seats at the last moment if they have no other choice.

This also gives passengers who checked in early online and were assigned a bad seat the most time to decide whether they want to spend money on selecting a better seat.

Beat the automatic seat assignment algorithm: Check-in late

Because low-cost airlines hold on to the best seats for as long as possible in case someone is willing to pay for them, your best chance of getting one automatically assigned for free is to check in as late as possible.

With all low-cost airlines – whether you fly Ryanair, easyJet, or Wizz Air – your best bet is to wait as long as possible to complete your online check-in, as most of the bad seats will have already been automatically assigned to others, while nearly all the best ones will still be available.

There are, however, a couple of caveats.

First and foremost, a plane needs to be (nearly) fully booked for you to score a front-row seat with plenty of legroom for free, as low-cost airlines will not automatically assign them if the flight has a light load factor.

If the flight is overbooked, checking in last might increase your chances of being bumped, although no one outside the airline’s own departments knows exactly how this algorithm works.

I would also expect your flying history to play a role: If you fly regularly with the airline, your chances of being bumped from an overbooked flight are probably much lower than someone making their first flight or an irregular customer, even if you’re the last passenger to check-in.

Another possible disadvantage is that if you check in late and, with a bit of bad luck, still get a bad seat, there will be very few remaining options if you want to pay for a better one, with only some of the most expensive seats left and nearly all the cheaper window and aisle seats already taken.

Seat assignments when travelling as a couple, group, or family

Of course, beating the automatic seat assignment algorithms of low-cost airlines and trying to score the best possible seat is easier for solo travellers than for those travelling as a couple, group, or family, especially if you want to sit together!

The automatic seat assignment algorithms of low-cost airlines are quite strict, as even when you’re travelling as a family, they won’t guarantee you’ll be seated together.

Take for example Ryanair’s family seat policy: “For safety reasons, children under the age of 12 must sit beside an accompanying adult, and infants (aged 8 days to 23 months inclusive) must sit on an accompanying adult’s lap.

“It is mandatory for an adult travelling with children under 12 (excl. infants) to reserve a seat. A maximum of four children for every one adult on the same booking will receive a reserved seat free of charge. This ensures parents of young children sit together during the flight. This will also allow you to check-in for your flight 60 days before departure.

“It is not mandatory for any other adults or teenagers in the booking to reserve a seat, however they may choose to do so if they wish to seat with the rest of the family.”

The easyJet policy when flying with children or infants notes that “whilst our seating system will always try to seat families together, seats are allocated on a first come first served basis so the earlier you check in the more likely you are to be seated together”.

Wizz Air notes in their family seating policy that “during the check-in process, the adult and the child will automatically be assigned seats next to each other”, although it warns that it may still split up other adult members of the same family.

The bottom line when travelling as a family with children is that it’s best to select a seat in advance (for a fee), or otherwise check-in online as soon as possible rather than wait.

If you’re travelling as a couple or a group of adults and want to sit together, your only guarantee is to pay for seat selection in advance, as there is a high likelihood the airline might split your group up if you don’t and check in early, with no guarantee you’ll still be seated together in more premium seats if you check in as late as possible either.

Switching seats on board

If the tactics outlined above have failed and you still end up with a bad seat on board, there are still some options to get a better one.

Once on board, you are free to ask other passengers if they are willing to swap seats with you.

Especially when asking because you’ve been separated from a family member or friend, other passengers are often happy to help, provided you don’t offer them a worse seat than they have, so never ask someone in an aisle or window seat to swap for your middle seat!

Another good option is to hang around the gate area for as long as possible and board the plane last, although you must ensure you don’t linger too long and risk missing the final boarding call!

When you board the plane, walk slowly down the aisle and check for any empty seats, as you can often take one, even if it’s not your assigned seat.

Of course, it’s best to do this only if you have a small carry-on bag that can easily fit under the seat in front of you, as overhead bins will likely be full if you have a trolley bag.

Similarly, you can take your assigned seat but move quickly to an empty one nearby once the “boarding completed” announcement is made, as at that point, you can be sure those seats are unoccupied.

I’ve done hundreds of flights with European low-cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air, and I’ve never seen their flight attendants make an issue of passengers switching to an empty seat in the cabin.

The only exception involves the front-row seats – and sometimes the first few rows – where flight attendants on low-cost airlines often forbid passengers from sitting if they haven’t paid for extra legroom, usually asking to see your boarding pass before sending you back to your actual assigned seat.

If you try this tactic, it’s best not to overdo it by immediately taking front-row seats like 1A or 1C, but instead move more tactfully into seats like 8A or 8C if they’re still empty.

Conclusion

Low-cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air use an automatic seat assignment system that assigns a seat to any passenger who hasn’t paid to select one in advance.

This carries the risk of ending up with an undesirable middle seat or being separated from your travel companions.

If you’re not willing to pay for a seat, it’s best to check in as late as possible when flying with low-cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air, as the automatic seat assignment algorithm holds the best seats until the very last moment.

However, if you’re travelling as a family with children, it’s often best to check in as early as possible to ensure you sit together.